Notables
-Eight yellow cards given in the match (4 CSS, 4 UWS)
-CSS was out-shot by the Yellowjackets 17-6
-Davidson-Hunt recorded nine saves in the contest
-A total of 29 fouls were called between the two teams
-The first CSS win over UWS on a turfed Saints Field
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's soccer program has been on a roll as of late in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play, and it kept to its ways by defeating the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets Tuesday afternoon at Saints Field. The 2-1 victory, with all three goals being scored in the second half, marks the first victory for CSS on homecoming week.
The Action
The match started off with both teams taking an aggressive approach as there were five fouls called before the first shot was taken at the six-minute mark by Superior's Jon Bucklew.
Juan Ochoa (Chihuahua, Mexico/Prepa Tec) answered back with a shot of his own 13 minutes into the contest, but UWS keeper Dalton Von Kaenel was there in time to make the save. The Yellowjackets strung together nine consecutive shots after the Ochoa attempt, putting the pressure on CSS early.
Sandy Davidson-Hunt (Kenora, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) recorded five saves during the stretch, keeping the border rivals off the scoreboard.
Ochoa sent another one towards the net later in the first half, but yet again he was denied by Von Kaenel. Despite Superior recording 11 shots in the first half to St. Scholastica's two, the match remained scoreless heading into the half as Davidson-Hunt held his ground in between the posts.
There was a huge momentum swing to start the second half, as
Darby Henderson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) netted the first goal of the rivalry game off an assist from
Luke Buckton (Bath, England/Writhlington School) to put the Saints on top. It was more than just a nice pass from Buckton, however, as he used fancy footwork to beat two defenders before making a beautiful cross over to Henderson for the one-timer just a minute into the half.
Superior didn't waste any time creating pressure again, though, as Blake Doyea sent two shots at Davidson-Hunt 45 seconds after Henderson's goal. The CSS keeper stayed solid, saving those two shots and a header a few minutes later to keep the Saints up 1-0.
The match went back to how it started for the next 10 minutes, as both teams received a few foul calls while not managing to fire many shots on goal. In the 75th minute, with CSS still up 1-0, Buckton sent one from 40 yards out towards the net.
What happened next caused much controversy from both teams, as Buckton's shot was pinned by the UWS keeper on the crossbar. As the ball fell straight down, Von Kaenel scrambled to bat it away from the goal line. A few seconds later, after a bit of celebration had started on the side of CSS, the sideline referee signaled a goal to give CSS a 2-0 advantage.
Once again UWS put their foot on the pedal directly after a CSS goal, and this time they made the effort worth it as Gunnar O'Neil-Sengbush sent one past Davidson-Hunt 30 seconds after the Buckton goal.
The rest of the match stayed competitive, with Superior firing a few more shots towards the CSS net. All of them unsuccessful however, and the Saints came away with a 2-1 win Tuesday afternoon.
Up Next
The Saints (8-2-0, 6-0-0 UMAC) will now host the Martin Luther College Knights on Homecoming Saturday at 3:15 p.m. on Saints Field.
